Ruthless United hammer Wigan

Wayne Rooney delivered another masterclass as Wigan meekly surrendered to Manchester United for the second time this season in a 5-0 defeat at Old Trafford.

PUBLISHED: 22:24, Wed, Dec 30, 2009

Dimitar Berbatov [PA]

Sir Alex Ferguson has argued for years that if his side are within touching distance of top spot on New Year's Day they will take some stopping.

And not only are they only two points adrift of Chelsea, they have almost achieved parity in the goal difference column too after another five-goal mauling of the hapless Latics, who seem ill equipped to survive a relegation scrap.

Former Wigan star Antonio Valencia had a productive night, claiming three assists and scoring the final Premier League goal of 2009 against his old club.

But Rooney was the main man, opening United's account with his 15th goal of the season and getting himself right to the heart of a performance Wigan could not have complained about if it had brought the hosts double figures.

United dominated the opening exchanges and Wigan struggled to hold out until Rooney's opener in the 28th minute. The England forward stole in at the near post to meet Rafael Da Silva's cross and steer it past Chris Kirkland to break the deadlock.

Michael Carrick swept home the second three minutes later following a neat cut-back from former Valencia and Rafael made it three in first-half injury-time, showing nimble feet to create space on the edge of the area before drilling past Kirkland.

Mike Pollitt replaced the injured Kirkland at half-time, but the substitute goalkeeper was powerless to prevent Dimitar Berbatov stabbing home a fourth following more good work from Valencia.

And it was Valencia who rounded off the scoring in the 76th minute, clipping the ball over Pollitt after Rooney's driving run.

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